rev. dr. rodger nishioka
Senior Pastor
913-671-2323
Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka joined the Village Presbyterian Church staff in March 2016 as director of adult faith formation, later becoming senior associate pastor. He was called as co-pastor with Rev. Tom Are, Jr., in 2023 and named senior pastor in December of 2023.
Rodger believes that because God created us all for relationship, discovering how to follow Jesus Christ happens best in community. He is profoundly grateful to be serving at Village Church and is inspired daily by the faith and faithfulness of this vibrant community of children, youth, young adults and adults.
Born in Honolulu and raised in Seattle at the Japanese Presbyterian Church, prior to coming to Village, Rodger taught at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta for 15 years as the Benton Family professor of Christian Education. Before serving on the faculty of Columbia Seminary, he was director of youth and young adult ministries for the Presbyterian Church (USA). Rodger is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University (BA), McCormick Theological Seminary (MATS) and Georgia State University (Ph.D.). Rodger is most at home in the classroom both as a teacher and as a learner. The son of Rev. Richard and Alice Nishioka, he is evidence that you can be a pastor’s kid and still love Jesus and the church.
Rev. anna owens
site pastor
913-671-2372
Anna joined Village Presbyterian Church as site pastor at our Antioch Campus in Overland Park in April 2023. She was born and raised in South Carolina. She is a classically trained opera singer, receiving a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. At Converse, she first began to sense a call to ministry and a leadership inclination. She is a graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Anna met her husband, Josh Sweeney, on her first day of classes at Columbia. They were married her final semester. Anna and Josh have a toddler (Charlie) and two dogs (Abby and Newt).
Anna most recently served as the associate pastor for spiritual growth at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio. She has also served churches in Indiana and Alabama.
Dr. Aaron R. Redburn
director of music MINISTRIES
913-671-2376
Aaron joined the staff of Village Church on Antioch in 2021 and currently serves as Director of Music Ministries. A passionate musician, educator, and composer, he holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts and a Master of Music from the University of Memphis, and earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. He is joined in worship by his wife, Dr. Shannon Redburn, their daughter Rosemary, and their (soon-to-be-born) son. The Drs. Redburn met after high school, rehearsing for a show at Theatre in the Park, and have since performed countless musicals and operas together. They’ve been heard around the country, on the international stage, and as guests on NPR.
Prior to this position, Dr. Redburn was a professor of music at Avila University, Visible Music College, and the University of Memphis. The Redburns join Village from the congregation of Germantown Presbyterian Church in Memphis, TN, where they served in both children’s and music ministries.
lisa harrison
COMMUNICATIONS & SITE COORDINATOR
913-681-8180
Lisa joined the staff at Antioch Campus in June 2021 as the communications and site coordinator. Born and raised in the suburbs just north of Chicago, (Go Bears!) Lisa’s family was very active in the Village Presbyterian Church of Northbrook, where she and Tim were married in 1991, and where her father still serves on the Endowment Committee. Lisa and Tim raised their two young adult sons, Parker and Davis, as members of the Presbyterian Church of Stanley, where Lisa served as a deacon, taught Sunday School and VBS, rang in the bell choir, and chaperoned an amazing mission trip to Mississippi to help with Hurricane Katrina cleanup efforts.
Prior to joining the Antioch staff, Lisa taught middle school Social Studies, English and Spanish for 15 years, and then worked as a magazine editor for several local publications for a decade. She earned her BA and MA in Education from the University of Kansas, where she met Tim, and where both of their boys have graduated. Needless to say, they are all avid fans of Jayhawks basketball.
paula benefiel
PRESCHOOL DIRECTOR
913-681-1906
Paula has served as director of the Antioch Campus Preschool since August 2005. She grew up in Shawnee, Kan. and attended Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. She received her B.A. in Elementary Education with an emphasis in special education from Pittsburg State University.
Her philosophy in early childhood education is teaching children to think creatively so they may succeed in an ever-changing world. Paula notes that purposeful play is developmentally appropriate and a significant element of any early childhood program.
Paula has three adult children, Taylor, Kyle, and Katie, and a couple of adorable pups that keep her on her toes.
dr. jan kraybill, DMA, FAGO
Principal organist
GRAMMY-nominated artist Jan Kraybill is a musical leader and dynamic speaker; a concert organist, pianist, and harpsichordist; an educator, church musician, and consultant; and an enthusiastic advocate for the power of music to change lives for the better.
In addition to maintaining a very active concert schedule, Dr. Kraybill is organ conservator at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, organist-in-tesidence at the international headquarters of Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri; and organist at Village on Antioch Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Overland Park, Kansas. She plays and oversees the care of the Kansas City metro area's three largest pipe organs: at Community of Christ, the Auditorium’s 113-rank Aeolian-Skinner (installed in 1959) and the Temple’s 102-rank Casavant (1993), and at the Kauffman Center's Helzberg Hall, the 102-rank Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant (2012).
Dr. Kraybill's degrees in music education and piano and organ performance were earned at Kansas State University and the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In 2010 she achieved the distinction of Fellow of the AGO, organists' highest certification level. She has served in many local, regional and national roles in the AGO, The Hymn Society and the Master Teacher Institute, most recently as executive director of The Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada. She is a member of Mensa. Her extra-musical interests include antiquing, lace making and riding her Harley-Davidson with her husband, Allan.